The King's Speech

I saw The King’s Speech on Friday afternoon and, typically, loved it. I'm usually a bit apprehensive when a film receives near unanimous praise, not because I'm an overly-pretentious arse who dislikes anything remotely popular, but because one finds that before the film has begun, you already have unreachable expectations. I was pleasantly and thankfully surprised. Colin Firth's performance should be rightfully rewarded with a raft of awards but I can't help but think he was overshadowed somewhat by the fantastic Geoffrey Rush as the charismatic antipodean Lionel Logue. If Firth is awarded any Best Actor gongs then Rush most certainly deserves any Supporting Actor gongs too. What struck me most about Rush's character is how well thought-out it was; how eccentric - in a typically thirties way - and how challenging he was. I liked too that there was some challenges made against the froideur that the Royal Family are perceived of possessing. There were also various issues of class brought out that few films tend to deal with in such a subtle way. Helena Bonham-Carter was fantastic as the young Queen Mother, alas, she didn't quite capture what a ruthless, money-grabbing old goat she turned out to be. Guy Pearce too, was a fantastically smarmy and petulant Edward VIII - spot on I thought!

Other than cinema-going, I've spent the majority of my weekend entertaining soon departing friends and finalising the seemingly never-ending research for my dissertation. I've been listening to a lot of Elvis (when he was fat, depressed and making outstanding country records like Elvis Country) as well as the new Adele album (which is a blinder). Also, Dexter Series 4 is possibly the best yet. Maybe I'll review it once I've finished it.